Environmental Health Workforce Act of 2016
This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to develop model standards and guidelines for credentialing environmental health professionals.
Additionally, HHS must develop a comprehensive and coordinated plan for the environmental health workforce that: (1) includes performance measures, (2) identifies any gaps between existing programs and future environmental health workforce needs, and (3) identifies actions needed to address any identified gaps.
The Government Accountability Office must identify the best practices related to training and credentialing environmental health professionals in six states.
The bill also amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to make environmental health professionals eligible for loan forgiveness programs from the Department of Education.